King of Fear
by Onimot
Summary: Response to the Wimblegurk Brigade challange. Lost Soul route - An undead mage from an age long past with no memories of who he once was finds himself once again taking part in a battle against evil. "All that it takes for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing."
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to King of Fear, also known as "what the fuck am I doing with my life". Gaze upon this product of one mans boredom and head full of ideas that should've probably been used for something different. No idea if this will be getting updated, maybe if people like it or something, I don't know. As for the title, I named this story that just because I was listening to the King of Fear album by Skelator while writing this, which I definetely recommend checking out. With all that said, let's get this shitshow started.**

 _Cold, dark, empty._

For the longest time, those were the only things he could feel, see, use to describe himself and his surrounding, his existence. And then something changed. The cold remained, but the darkness and emptiness were gone, replaced by sound and smell. His thoughts became free, unrestricted, flowing freely and being remembered, instead of disappearing into the abyss.

Light touched his eyelids, and for the first time, he opened his eyes, took his first breath. He rose up, and explored his surrounding, what was present on his form. Loose fitting tattered pants, grey after whatever color they once was faded out. A black long sleeved shirt with holes in it, a rusted steel plate over it. A belt full of pouches, all of them empty. Worn-down brown gloves. A simple rapier at his side in a suprisingly good condition. And most importantly, a tattered worn-down blue cloak with a high collar. And after looking around the area he woke up in, he discovered a big wide brimmed beige hat on the floor, that simply felt correct to put on. The combination of the collar of the cloak and the wide brim of the hat, hiding his face in a shade.

He chose a direction and just went forward, no destination in mind. No memories to speak of, no memories of who he was, only echoes. Feeling of familiarity, things he might not remember, but his body does. He moved onwards, past forests, ruins of buildings, and empty battlefields. The sun and moon switching places time and again, until he came across something different.

He was moving through a forest, nearing a clearing, until he began to hear the sounds of clashing steel and shouts of battle. Moving towards the source of these sounds with haste, his gaze fell upon the sight of a battlefield.

On one side of the battle, knights clad in armor fighting alongside men fitted in loose open clothing, knights fighting with skill while the men making up for their lack of protection with fevor. On the other side of the conflict were monsters, giant orcs, devilish imps and devils, beastly wolfmen. The clash seeming to be in a stalemate, with neither side taking over the other. Memories of a battle long past fill his mind, setting his blood boiling, and before he even realizes what is happening, he has his rapier unsheathed and is charging towards the battle.

The first to notice his arrival is a wolfman, just done with butchering down a soldier with his claws, turning towards the newcomer his throat gets slashed by a rapier, falling down while clutching its throat, quickly being forgotten. Following the wolfman, many more monsters end up dead, slashed across their necks or chests and backs. The newcomers thoughts focusing on just one thing, cutting down the monsters infront of him.

During his rampage, dodging the enemies attacks and responding with his own, taking advantage of the openings left by the enemy. He can feel an energy in his body, a power, building up. Like a reflex, something as natural as breathing, he begins directing the energy into his free hand, feeling it build up, to the point of almost bursting. His presence now fully noticed by both sides, he points his free hand towards a giant orc making his way towards him. A lightning bolt flashes with a thundering boom, striking the orc and jumping from monster to monster until disappating. Leaving the monsters charred and smoking, in the case of the wolfmen on fire, and orcs falling down crushing the monsters behind them.

With the newcomers help, cutting down enemies with his rapier and shooting them down with lightning bolts and balls of fire, the tide of battle shifts in favor of the knights and mercenaries. The monsters falling down one by one, ones trying to flee being stopped by arrows and crossbow bolts of archers and crossbowmen behind the human lines. Before long, the battle is over, leaving behind the victors and survivors cheering in victory. Once the cheers of victory subside, the knights regard him with suspicion while mercenaries wander around the field, finishing off any surviving monsters and salvaging any gear and weaponry still in usable condition.

An air of tension forms between him and the knights, an air that gets broken by the arrival of a group of knights in gold ornate white armor riding on white steeds. A woman emerges from the group, riding in on a white horse, long beautiful blonde hair with a grass crown upon it, a generous busom and a body modestly covered by white cloth, her ears betraying her high elf heritage. Once his gaze fall upon her beauty, he alongside all the remaining knights fall to their knees and bow, him recognizing that he is in the presence of royalty, a monarch.

She rides towards him, getting off her steed once she is close enough and standing in front of him, her entourage moving to surround them incase the newcomer tries anything. She speaks with a melodic voice "Please, take off your hat. I wish to see the face of the hero of this battle."

No idea why he feels nervous, he takes off his hat. Revealing a young gaunt face, pale as snow, with a mop of raven black hair upon his head, no older then 17 she would wager. Slowly looking up, light yellow eyes meeting her green eyes. Her eyes study his face, taking in the details, before asking "What is your name?"

"I… I don't remember…" A voice responds, quiet and weak from not having been used in who knows how long. His gaze falling down to the ground, ashamed at his answer although he doesnt understand why.

"You don't remember?" She asks, curious at his strange answer, how could someone not remember their own name?

"I… I don't have one." He repeats, it was the truth, he has no recollection of his own name.

She studies him once more, this child compared to her dressed in ragged clothing, possessing exceptional magical skill according to the reports of the battle. Inviduals with magical skill like his were not common, there were plenty of knights and infantry men in her army, but mages were rare. Either too old to take part in a war such as this, or taught in the arts of healing magic and staying behind the lines fixing up wounded souldiers. After a moment of consideration, she makes her verdict.

"I wish to grant you a name, and make you a knight. Would that be alright with you?"

"I would be honored." He responds, the thought of having a name being a pleasant one.

"Very well." She outstreches her hand, a nearby knight hands her his blade. Wielding the blade in both hands, she lightly touches his shoulder with it "I, Celestine Lucullus, hereby make you a knight of the Order of Chivalry, and bestow upon you a name, wear it with pride." she proclaims moving the blade to his other shoulder and also lightly touching it. She hands the blade back to the knight who gave it to her. The boy slowly looks up at her once again.

"Rise, Vergil."

 **And thats that, feel free to review and tell me what you think, I enjoy reading and responding to reviews of any kind.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Welcome back to the ramblings of one madman put together into a readable form, also known as King of Fear. I present to you the first proper chapter, with the previous one being a prologue and totally not me being lazy. Writing scenes is now much easier due to the fact that our protagonist has a name. I sat down and rewatched the first episode of the OVA, realized it doesn't hold up as well as I remember compared to other hentai and that watching hentai for the purpose of plot is really fucking boring, but here we are.**

 **Can't say I am completely satisfied with how the last third of the chapter turned out, but I guess that means I should focus on improving. Without further ado, let's get this shitshow rolling.**

Chapter 1: The Black Fortress Part 1

Following Vergils knighting, Celestine, her envoy, the knights, and the mercenaries of the Black Dog company as Vergil learned they called themselves all ventured towards the direction of the nearest fortress under the command of one Alicia Arcturus and Prim Fiore. During the trip, some of the more friendly knights and mercs briefed Vergil on the current situation and the nature of the conflict he has found himself in. A conflict between the Order of Chivalry led by the reborn goddess Celestine Lucullus and her seven princess knights, and the Dark Queen Olga Discordia and her army of monsters.

The trip took only two days before the army reached its destination, the mercenaries heading straight towards the taverns and brothels after recieving their pay, while the knights went towards the barracks happy to get some rest. Celestine made her way towards the main castle, to look over the progress made alongside the other princess knight and plan the next course of action. Vergil found himself lost, not sure whether or not to join the mercenaries in their drinking and partying and if they would even accept him among them. Instead he decided to do what felt natural to him, something he felt like he would've been looking forward to a lifetime ago. He asked the local guards if there was a library in the castle, and if he could have permission to visit it. He was met with a few questions of suspiction, before the guards figured there was no harm in letting him check it out and told him to go ahead.

The following three days were spent in the library, studying and learning the events of the last hundred years or so aswell as any information he could find on the monsters plaguing the land. Disappointingly he found no magical tomes to speak of, leaving him with only the spells familiar to his body or remembered through trial and error. Satisfied with what little he managed to discover, he left the library only to see the mercenaries arming themselves and getting ready to leave while the knights kneeled and prayed infront of a podium near the local church, a sermon being given by a priest standing upon the podium during which nuns were moving across the ranks of the knights and giving them blessings. Among the nuns giving blessings was a young priest in-training that caught Vergils eye. Short platinum blonde hair on a tanned face with a pair of glasses, a horizontal scar on his cheek left by some kind of beast with three claws. Vergil felt like he didn't quite belong, looking more like a fighter then a man of faith.

Asking the nearest mercenaries what he missed, Vergil was informed that the next course of action has been chosen and that they are getting ready to attack the home of the Black Queen herself, the Black Fortress. An army consisting of mostly mercenaries with a limited amount of knights, led by the leader of the Black Dog mercenaries Volt. Meanwhile Celestine and the princess knights would stay back and watch as events unfolded. Packing up some basic supplies aswell as replacing his rusted steel plate with a new one, Vergil joined the army setting out towards hopefully the final confrontation of this conflict.

 **-00000000000000000000000-**

The army setup camp for the night, according to the scouts sent out ahead they were about a days march away from reaching their destination. During the travel, Vergil realized something after observing the Black Dog mercenaries for a while. Ever since he opened his eyes for the first time, he has not once felt tired, hungry, or thirsty. Some of the mercenaries noticed this and tried to get him to join in on their feasting and drinking, but Vergil politely declined each time.

Instead Vergil preffered to spend his time near the edge of camps, experimenting with his magic and trying to remember anything he could, an endevour he found himself being very unsuccessful with lately. Finished with his latest attempts at bringing up any forgotten memories, Vergil finds himself sitting on a log, focused on a small flame conjured up in his hand, finding himself somehow fascinated with it.

"Not much for socialising, are you?" Quickly getting rid of the flame in his hand, he looks over at the person who adressed him. Light brown hair on a young face with green eyes framed by glasses, a dark purple cloak with a Black Dog pin on it over a green-ish tunic, and a book attached to the belt of his pants. Vergil saw him around the mercenaries before, usually alongside Volt. "Not that there is anything wrong with that, I am very much like that myself." The young man continued.

"I dont think we've been introduced yet." Vergil forced himself to answer, not sure how to proceed with his first real conversation ever since waking up. "No, we have not. The name is Kin, I am one of Volts lieutenants." Vergil nodded, getting up and dusting himself off, offering Kin a handshake "Vergil." Kin didn't take the handshake, making Vergil feel rather awkward after lowering his hand back. "Yes, I have heard about the circumstances surrounding your name. Must have been an honor being knighted by Celestine herself, no?", Vergil shrugs "I wouldn't know.".

Kin blinked at his answer before letting it go. "Mages like you and I aren't very common, where did you learn magic?" Kin inquired, Vergil quickly making up an answer on the spot. "Travelling." Kin raised an eyebrow at the answer "Oh? Well, I did quite a lot of travelling myself before joining the Black Dogs." Kin admitted. "How was it?" "Quite interesting, but after running out of money a bit too often I decided to join a mercenary group, and the Black Dogs were just in town at the time." Kin explained, sitting down on a tree stump opposite of Vergil. "Do you miss it?" "Sometimes, but I can't complain much. The Black Dogs have been treating me well, we've travelled all over the land and at the end of the day get a pretty sizeable pay, my skills as a magician being especially invaluable to them."

A silence fell over the two mages, Vergil sitting back down on his spot while Kin studied him, noticing something peculiar about him. "If I may ask, where is your grimoire?" Vergil looked up at him, confused. "My grimoire?". Kin patted the book attached to his hip "Yes, grimoire, book of spells and all that. I doubt you would remember each and every spell you ever learned and how to cast them." Shit, did he forget his grimoire when he woke up? Did he even notice it? Was it even there? This was not good. Kin took his silence as an answer. "Well, thats unfortunate." getting up from his spot and dusting himself off he continued "Hopefully you will be able to get it back or start a new one, atleast you know how to use that sword of yours, eh?" Vergil nodded, distracted by his thoughts and trying to remember what else he might have forgot behind. "See you around, if you survive the battle I might even share some knowledge with you!" Kin called out, walking back towards the camp. Vergil watched his retreating form, despite the friendly demeanor, he couldn't help but feel like there was something selfish or sinister behind him, he didn't trust Kin one bit.

 **-00000000000000000000000-**

The remainder of the journey went with little trouble, excluding the occasional orc or demon patrol that was quickly taken care of by the mercenaries. Coming up on a hill overlooking the landscape, the army finally lays its eyes on the home of the enemy, the Black Fortress.

What Vergil saw before him was a wasteland, what was more then likely once a battlefield, surrounded by by remains of mountains. The sky a crimson color casting its light over the wastes. He could feel the residual magic of the area being sucked out, preventing life and vegetation to spread and grow. All of the magic being directed towards the single structure in the center. The Black Fortress itself, a large obsidian crystalline structure jutting out of the ground like a thorn.

For the briefest of moments, the sight before him changed to a completely different picture.

 _A grass field of vibrant green, surrounded by forests brimming with life. Snow capped mountains in the distance. A dirt road leading to a quaint little village comprising of cobble houses with straw roofs and chimneys. "That should be the village of Rimstead!" A friendly feminine voice called out. With a smile on his face he turned to look over at the rest of-_

And just like that, it was gone. Vergil turned away and began to walk towards the camp starting to get setup, he couldn't stomach the view. Something about it _sickened_ him.

 **-00000000000000000000000-**

Vergil busied himself with helping the mercenaries setup tents around the camp, they were going to siege the fortress tomorrow morning and till then they had to make sure everything was in order. Vergil felt someone tap him on the soldier, turning around it was one of the random mercenary troops "Volt wants to see you, says its important." he explained while pointing towards the main tent that was already setup. With a nod Vergil set out towards it.

Inside the tent it was very empty, some gear and a bedroll still waiting to get unpacked. The main thing in the tent was a table placed in the middle with a map of the surrounding area on it. Volt looking over it, next to him Kin who greeted him with a nod, and a muscular man with brown hair who Vergil assumed was another lieutenant.

Volt had short shaggy brown hair, a tanned rugged face and brown eyes. His outfit consisted of a black shirt with a dark red cape over it and a dark red pauldron over his left shoulder with the emblem of the Black Dogs on it, aswell as dark brown pants with heavy boots and gloves on his hands. Overall Volt striked a very imposing figure, being over six feet tall.

Looking up from the map Volt motioned Vergil to come closer. "Ah, Vergil. I heard reports from my troops of what you can do, I have a job for you." Coming closer to the table, Volt began to explain. "Scouts that were sent to look over the fortress have finally returned, and we have begun thinking up a plan of attack." Volt pointed towards the Black Fortress marked on the map. "Scouts have reported that a magical barrier protects the fortress, but Kin already has a solution prepared for that."

Kin nodded with a satisfied smile on his face "Yes, I have been expecting there to be barrier, especially if the rumors about the queen being a powerful sorceress were to be true. The ritual I have prepared will create an opening in the barrier, but the opening will stay open only for two hours." Volt continued with his explanation. "Yes, we will have to take the fortress in under two hours, made even harder by the fact that the fortress only has one entrance." A frown formed on Volts face.

"We are expecting the entrance to be protected by the full brunt of Olgas army, I may lead the best damn mercenary army in all of Eostia, but even I don't feel confident going up against those kind of odds." Volt placed both of his hands on the table and looked up straight into Vergils eyes. "This is where you come in."

"What do you expect me to do?" Vergil spoke up for the first time since entering the tent. Volt returned to pointing on the map. "Our scouts have detected a crack on the east side of the fortress. The fortress may be made out of obsidian, but the bottom is made out of stone just like any other keep. We have a cart full of dwarfen explosives on our hands, I am tasking you with taking a group of troops and escorting the cart towards the crack, blowing up a hole in the wall and entering the fortress, you will then make your way towards the front and cause havoc on the other side. That should weaken the enemy and distract them long enough for us to make a push straight to the queen herself. Once we do that the battle is as good as won. You got all that?" Vergil nodded in an affirmitive "Understood."

Volt straighted back up, crossing his arms over. "Any objections?" None came. "Good, go finish setting up the camp. I suggest getting a good nights sleep, we will strike in the morning. Vergil, Kin, the two of you are dismissed. Hicks, you stay, we still have things to plan." With that both Vergil and Kin left the tent, Hicks and Volt watching them leave. "You're putting an awful lot of trust in the guy, don't you think?" Hicks asked his leader "I know, but I have a good feeling about him. And according to our boys, this should be a cake-walk for him. I see potential in him." Volt answered. Hicks looked back at the left open entance to the tent, watching Vergil return to helping setup. He tried to imagine him in Black Dog colors, having a more combat focused mage on their side being a rather appealing idea.

 **-00000000000000000000000-**

Vergil spent the night resting to the best of his ability, finding it strangely difficult to do so. Once the sun rose over the horizon, the army began getting ready for the siege. He found the atmosphere strangely relaxing, he supposed the mercs were used to this, going into battle knowing they may not live to see the next day. The army amassed on a hill overlooking the fortress. Volt arrived and alongside Kin explained the battle plan to the army. Shortly afterwards the army began to start moving towards the fortress. Vergil quickly made his way towards the cart full of explosives and the group he was supposed to escort it with.

The group consisted of three guys, a big bald dude with a beard called Merik who was going to be pushing the cart, a blonde guy with a crossbow who was appropriately nicknamed Blondie, and lastly a black haired guy with a moustache and a sword in his hand who called himself Edyq. After making quick introductions, the group followed the army some distance away.

"Fuckin hell, I'm havin trouble breathing." Merik mentioned, the rest of the group nodding in agreement. He figured the hard to breathe air was just another side-effect caused by the barrier in place. The army was making good progress, not many complications appearing in its way thus far. Vergil guessed that most of the monsters were either already waiting for them in the fortress, or hidden and prepared to ambush them along the way. The air wasn't much of an inconvinience to him, but the guys did seem to have started taking heavier breaths. The group stopped once Blondie seemed to have walked head first into a wall despite there not being anything there, the group figured that must have been the barrier. Now all they had to do was wait for the barrier to drop and the sounds of battle to begin.

Minutes later Vergil could physically feel the magic of the barrier dropping, sounds of battle cries signalling the beginning of the siege seconds later. "Let's go." Everyone nodded in agreement, they had a job to do.

The group found zero resistance getting closer to the fortress. Before long they managed to make their way to the crack in the wall on the east side of the fortress. Parking the cart right against it, Merik tried to get a torch started to set it off, but was having trouble getting a flame started. "Stay back." Vergil approach him, motioning for him and the others to get some distance. Once he figured everyone was far enough back, Vergil once again called up his mana reserve, focusing it in his hand and feeling the familiar heat as he directed the form it should take. With a fireball formed in his hand, he threw it straight at the cart, causing the explosives inside to detonate.

Once the smoke and dust kicked up by the explosion settled down, the crack in the wall was replaced by a sizeable hole. "We need to move, they will definetely go check out the loud boom that just shook the place." Vergil ordered, taking lead in entering the fortress. The other guys looked between each other before shrugging and entering behind him.

The newly made hole lead straight into the fortress storage. Merik finally managed to light his torch, handing it over to Edyq while he pulled out an axe while Vergil conjured up a flame in his hand to use as a lightsource. The group quickly began making their way upwards, past the dungeons and up a flight of stairs. Any monsters encountered didn't last long, not surviving the onslaught of cuts and slashes from the group and the occasional face full of fire courtesy of Vergil. The group eventually found their way into the kitchen, and from there into the main hallway. The sounds of battle coming from the farther end of it.

"Go! I need to check something out." Vergil ordered the group to go support the main force. The group hestitated for a moment before charging towards the battle, muttering a few obscenities about wizards under their breaths. Once the group was out of sight, Vergil looked towards the opposite end of the hallway. He wasn't lying, he felt something calling out to him. A feeling in his gut, not knowing why he is following it, he makes his way towards the opposite end of the hallway and away from the main battle.

A large set of doors awaited him at the end of the hallway. Slowly opening them up, to his surprise finding them unlocked, and entering the room beyond them.

Beyond the doors he found a gigantic hall, the throne room he realized. Pillars placed around and a long velvet carpet laid across the middle, going straight towards the throne. A silence fell once the doors closed behind him, the only sound being his footsteps as he slowly made his way forward. At the other end of the hall, sitting on her throne, was the Black Queen herself.

The queen had beautiful black hair and dark skin, her body very modestly covered by strips of purple cloth that seemed to stick to her skin. A black cape wrapped around her shoulders, and a silver crown on her head. A black scepter with a red jewel on the end of it in her hands, Vergil could feel contained a pretty big amount of magical energy, a powerful catalyst. The queen regarded him with a look of boredom, as if he was nothing but a bug. At her side stood another dark elf, one with long blonde hair tied into a pony tail with a strand falling over her eyes, her body covered just as modestly as the queens but with blue strips of cloth instead. This one levelling an intense glare in his direction.

"Lost, human?" Olga asked in a bored tone. Vergil took a moment to answer, asking himself what he was even doing here and why didn't he go aid the main force like he was supposed to. Finding some level of confidence within himself, he answered with a simple "No."

"Oh, then what are you doing here human. Came seeking your own death?" Vergil took a deep breath despite not needing it, steeling himself for what was to come. He has no idea what he is doing and where this sudden burst of courage is coming from, a feeling of deja vu falling over him. "Your reign ends here, now." He proclaimed, looking straight into her eyes and brandishing his blade.

Olga raised an eyebrow at his statement, a soft laugh escaping her as she stood up. "If you are so eager to die, then death is what I shall grant you. Have at you human, and perish like the filthy dog you are!" With that, the true battle began.

 **And that's that, now before I end the chapter there are two things I wish to ask you guys.**

 **First of all, the title. As much as I like the song King of Fear by Skelator, it does not completely fit Vergil or the story, so if you guys have any title ideas feel free to suggest them. Or I'll just keep the title as it is.**

 **Second of all, pairings. I currently have only two pairings planned for this fic, one is canon and not even worth mentioning, and the other is between two OCs. I don't have a pairing decided yet for Vergil, so if you guys would like to see him end up with someone then suggest who and the reason why. If I like it enough I will possibly end up writing that pairing.**

 **And that's it, don't forget to review as I enjoy reading those. Reviews, not as strong as methamphetamine, but they don't rot your teeth.**

 **Until next time, have a nice day.**


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